Okinawa is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Consisting of 41 inhabited islands and 16 uninhabited islands, Okinawa has the only sub-tropical climate in Japan and as such is a major tourist destination for the Japanese, but not many foreign visitors make it to these shores.
The name Okinawa means “rope in the open sea”, a fairly apt description of this long stretch of islands between mainland Japan and Taiwan.

From the northern end of the chain near Kyushu to the southern end near Taiwan, Okinawa’s major islands are:

Okinawa Island — the largest island in both size and population, featuring administrative capital Naha
- Ie - an upheaved coral reef island with only one village and an estimated population of about 5,000 inhabitants
- Ikei - a great secluded island getaway with some of the best beaches
- Hamahika
- Kume - often said to be one of the most beautiful of the Ryukyu Islands
- Kerama Islands — a cluster of tiny islands between Kume and Okinawa
Daito Islands — specks in the sea hundreds of kilometers to the east
- Kitadaito — the easternmost island in the prefecture
Miyako Islands — tourists are usually most interested in the natural monuments found here
- Irabu — the “other island” of Miyako
- Miyako — by far the largest of the three main islands that make up the group
- Shimoji — very close to Irabu, but not quite as large
- Tarama — known for its August festival
Yaeyama Islands — closer to Taiwan than the mainland
- Hateruma — the southernmost inhabited point of Japan
- Hatoma - the smallest of the Yaeyama Islands, barely 1 kilometer in diameter
- Ishigaki — the hub of the Yaeyamas, with spectacular beaches and manta rays
- Iriomote — jungles and the mysterious Iriomote wild cat
- Taketomi — small island off Ishigaki, known for a carefully restored Ryukyu village
- Yonaguni — the westernmost point of Japan, with mysterious ruins and hammerhead sharks
- Kuro — tiny island mildly famous for having (way) more cows than people

Most people come to Okinawa for the sun and beaches. Even in midwinter, when mainland Japan teeters around the freezing point, temperatures rarely dip below 15°C in Okinawa. For more adventurous types, the vast yet almost uninhabited island of Iriomote is covered in dense jungle.
Cultural attractions are rather more limited — Japanese colonization and World War II did a regrettably thorough job of eliminating most traces — but two standouts are Shuri Castle in Naha on Okinawa Island, and the carefully preserved village of Taketomi in the southern Yaeyama Islands.

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